DC considers commuter tax; Cummings against it

Analysts say tax could bring in $1.2B in yearly revenue

After a lawmaker in Washington, D.C., suggested taxing commuters who travel to the district, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings said he is vehemently against doing so.

Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican who chairs a House committee that oversees the district's affairs, proposed the idea again recently, saying it should be looked at following the presidential election.

Maryland is the district's largest source of employees, with nearly 250,000 commuting into the district to work.

District analysts said a 3 percent income tax on commuters would raise $1.2 billion in new revenue each year. That would be a significant boost for the district, which has a $9.65 billion operating budget.

But Cummings said the move could lead to a turf war in which everybody would be taxing everybody.

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